Livingston County gun clubs cater to members, their families

Jim Hackenberg, president of the Livingston Gun Club, fires off a number of rounds with an AR-15 rifle on a 25-yard range in a shooting demonstration at the Livingston Gun Club, near Brighton. The Associated Press/Livingston County Daily Press & Argus, Gillis Benedic

BRIGHTON TOWNSHIP (AP) — The Livingston Gun Club is a bare-bones type of club, and its members like it that way.

Tucked into a wooded area in Brighton Township, there’s a clubhouse for gatherings and several shooting ranges carved into the hilly terrain. The property has been used for shooting since the 1940s.
Members come here to shoot; it’s not a social club.

Livingston County is home to at least five gun and conservation clubs, and each has its own personality. Some are strictly for practice shooting and competition, but others offer numerous safety classes, hold parties for children and have fish fries. At one club, some members come to hang out, play cards and drink a few beers.

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Despite these differences, all the clubs provide residents an opportunity to shoot and learn about shooting sports and safety.

“I’ve been interested in guns and shooting since I was 6,” said Hackenberg, 59.

The self-employed welder of Farmington Hills said he likes using the club’s 32 acres for recreation. He said it’s not crowded and members have the run of the club’s eight ranges.

He visits the club at least once a week to shoot, and he’s taken his daughter and grandson there.

Members use pistols, rifles and shotguns. All members are required to belong to the National Rifle Association.

“We’re family-oriented and about advancing the shooting sports,” Hackenberg said.

He said club members can bring their families. The club also offers classes in hunter safety.
Each year, the club organizes a Women on Target event, which introduces women to shooting pistols, shotguns and rifles. This year, 75 women participated.

The Livingston County Wildlife and Conservation Club, off M-36 in Hamburg Township, provides a wide range of activities.

Bob Sifton, a hunter safety instructor, said the club has 400 family members.

The club, founded in the 1950s, has 23 acres of property, including land along the Huron River.

He said the facility has gun ranges, archery ranges and trap ranges, and volunteers provide bow and gun safety classes as well as boating and snowmobile safety courses. Classes also are offered for residents who want to get a concealed-weapon permit.

“Everybody has their own little thing they like to do,” Sifton said.

He said some club members love teaching children and organizing events for Easter and Christmas.

“That’s their passion; they want to help the children and teach the children,” Sifton said. “There are others who come to play cards and drink beer,” he said. Of course, no alcohol is allowed on the range.

Sifton enjoys teaching people about archery as the hunter safety instructor. He also likes socializing.

“I wanted to have a place to hang out and meet people,” he said.

While he’s teaching archery classes, he said his wife, Jackie, organizes the popular fish fries.

Sifton said there are about 40-50 volunteers who serve as instructors.

Sifton said all the classes are open to the public.

He said the club has a 3-D archery course where participants walk through the woods shooting at targets.

“It’s a great way to practice for hunting season,” he said.

He said the club provides a place for residents to practice shooting their bows and guns.

“We teach them responsibilities to go with it,” Sifton said.

The Livingston Gun Club has 155 members, who pay $125 annually to use the facilities. They’re required to put in at least 18 hours of work to maintain the buildings and facilities. Hackenberg said many members put in a lot more time.

John O’Connell, who has lived in Brighton Township since 1990, joined the club after learning one of his friends was a member.

“The ability to be able to shoot freely without a lot of restrictions” is what O’Connell, a retired air traffic controller, said he likes best about the club.

Members are able to open the gate and pretty much have run of the facility.

Prior to recent surgery, O’Connell said he would stop by a couple of times a week to shoot.

Hackenberg said, “Safety is No. 1 down here on the ranges.” He said new members take a 50-question test on safety and must read a 75-page book about safety rules.

He said the club members need to feel comfortable with potential newcomers; if they don’t, he said, the club has denied membership.

Although the Livingston Gun Club is private, Hackenberg said it’s open to the public on match days.

“It’s a great sport,” he said. “It teaches discipline, safety and awareness of firearms. I just enjoy shooting quite a bit.”

The club installed baffles, which look like trestles, at its ranges. The safety measures are supposed to slow down or stop bullets that are accidentally fired upward.

“I enjoy being able to shoot at reactive targets,” Wally Palazzolo said.

The club has different-size metal targets that fall down.

Palazzolo said a friend invited him to shoot at the club, and he became hooked on competitive shooting.